Huge coal ash spill in N. Carolina may cost Duke Energy $100 million

The Duke Energy coal-fired power plant is seen from the Dan River in Eden, North Carolina (Reuters/Chris Keane) / Reuters

Duke Energy, the largest utility company in the United States, has set aside $100 million in order to settle a federal grand jury investigation into last year’s huge coal ash spill in North Carolina.

The electric utility
made the announcement in its earnings report on Wednesday,
according to theLos Angeles Times. A federal grand jury has been
looking into the way Duke Energy manages the disposal and storage
of the waste created at its coal-fired power plants ever since
the coal ash spill occurred in February 2014.

The spill, which unloaded up to 39,000 tons of coal ash and some
27 million gallons of coal ash slurry into the Dan River, was the
third-largest coal ash spill in US history.

“The company expects a proposed agreement could be reached
and filed in the next several days for consideration by the
court,” Duke Energy said in its earnings report. “If
approved, the proposed agreement would resolve the ongoing grand
jury investigation of the company’s coal ash basin
management.”

Coal ash is waste left after burning coal that contains arsenic,
mercury, lead, and over a dozen other heavy metals, many of which
are toxic.

While Duke is currently involved in settlement negotiations, it’s
unclear what charges the grand jury is considering, and US
Attorney Thomas Walker has declined to discuss the issue. Even if
Duke resolves the issue, it’s still facing charges from North
Carolina’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
and activist groups for potentially violating state laws by
contaminating groundwater.

“This settlement would not resolve DENR’s civil litigation
over violations at coal ash ponds, which is ongoing,” the
agency said in a statement to the Charlotte Observer. “We also continue to
investigate violations of state groundwater standards and to
maintain our enforcement partnership with the US Environmental
Protection Agency for civil violations of the Clean Water
Act.”

As noted in the statement, the Environmental Protection Agency
has also taken legal action against the company, and it’s unknown
if the settlement referred to by Duke would cover that.

The February 2014 spill itself affected about 70 miles of the
river, though officials maintained that drinking water downstream
was still safe. However, recent reports have shown that coal ash
leaks continue to take place in the state.

Back in December, Duke told North Carolina regulators that more
than 3 million gallons of toxic chemicals were leaking near local
rivers and lakes every day. The leaks have been traced to 200
different seeps at 14 coal-fired plants. Two seeps in particular
leak almost 1 million gallons of waste a day.

New legislation, meanwhile, does little to stop these leaks from
continuing. Under North Carolina law, the company can either
choose to plug the leaks or seek to have them included in
wastewater discharge permits granted by DENR, the Observer
reported in a separate story. The second option is what
Duke and DENR plan to go ahead with.

The plan has drawn ire from environmentalists who argue that
including leaks in permits does nothing to solve the core
problem. The Southern Environmental Law Center, for example, is
planning a lawsuit in order to fight the permit plan.

“Duke has been openly leaking for years. Now they’re asking
DENR to give them amnesty,” said senior attorney Frank
Holleman to the Observer. “Can you imagine us allowing any
municipality or county in the state to permit a wastewater
treatment plant that leaks in multiple ways?”